Reflections on the Analogy of Being (review)

BOOK REVIEWS 95 grounds of the concepts of 7.~p~ and c~=r do not prevent them from being related within the framework of Plato's synthesis of previous Greek thought. Moreover , Sinnige's discussion of the ~'~r ~,~v-t~ and their interrelations is extremely unsatisfying and cannot support his conclusions. Previous literature on this subject receives little or no attention, and Aristotle's account of the unwritten doctrine is brushed aside as "a downright falsification," without even a passing mention of, e.g., Stenzers contrary view of the matter. SAMUELSCOLNICOV The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Reflections on the Analogy o/Being. By James F. Anderson. (The Hague: Marfinus Nij%off, 1967) Professor Anderson's book admirably answers the call for a "basic but thorough sort of treatment which, while prescinding from history, to some extent parallels previous works done in definite historical contexts." His book pretty much avoids the history of the issue, a history which easily overwhelms and confuses in favor of attempting to satisfy a "real need for a fundamental metaphysical analysis of Analogy which is to be judged according to the transhistorical criterion of conformity to the real." However, I have two reservations, one on the score of history, which plays an illustrative rather than a central role in this work, and another on the score of how well Anderson's position on analogy meets "the transhistorical criterion of conformity to the real." This work provides a valuable treatment of a tangled problem. It is clear. It is concrete. It is brief. Yet it covers the ground. A few examples, typical ones, are his lucid explanation of the character of universals on page 3, his description of the basis of the analogy of metaphor on pages 34-35, his outline of the likenesses and differences between analogy of metaphor and that of attribution on the same pages, his sketch of the difference between the relation between a class and its subclass and that between the areas covered by analogy on pages 58-59, and his vivid exposition of the relation of logic to metaphysics on page 89. These are instances of long, careful reflections which have resulted in brief, lucid, concrete descriptions. Anderson is masterful in explaining the difficult and complex clearly and concisely. Although he explicitly eschews a detailed historical survey of analogy, Anderson does make a good number of helpful references to the history of thinking on this subject in order to illustrate his points. These references serve to show that certain real thinkers pushed certain views on analogy or involving analogy and the results which came therefrom. One such instance is his consideration of Maimonides' position which neatly illustrates an excessive reliance on the analogy of metaphor. In fact, so helpful are these examples, especially the more modem ones, that I would venture to suggest that the author might well bring out a sequel to this work, a sequel devoted to covering some of the more contemporary thinking on analogy. In his Bond of Being he covers up to Bradley. A work of the same scope as the Reflections, i.e., a "basic but thorough" story of at least part of the contemporary thinking on analogy, would, I think, find a considerable welcome. I stated that I have two reservations. The first is minor in that it is a question of history, and Anderson is not primarily interested in historical questions in this book. The other, since his stated purpose is a "fundamental metaphysical analysis of Analogy which is to be judged according to the transhistorical criterion of conformity to the 96 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY real" is a major one. For I would contend that his position on analogy is not thoroughly suited to bring out the contours of reality. The somewhat minor reservation is on Anderson's interpretation of Plotinus. He contends that Plotinus sees reality in an essentialistic manner in contrast with Aquinas who sees it in an existentialistic manner. This interpretation appears based upon three points: (1) the One, the primary reality for Plotinus, is beyond all characterization, even that of "being" (cf. p. 60); (2) the interrelationship between the three basic realities is on the score of a Community...